He understood why Chu Wan was unhappy, but Wu Shuang's...
Sigh, well, let's not even talk about how a good man doesn't argue with a woman. My sister and fiancée aren't people to reason with either, so I'll just have to coax them a bit.
"I didn't yell at her, I just..."
Before he could react, Chu Wan interrupted him again: "You still say you weren't fierce? Brother, your face is as dark as Bao Gong's! Just looking at it is terrifying!" She took out a gold-inlaid jade-handled mirror from her purse and handed it to Chu Yao, "Look for yourself!"
Chu Yao took the photo and looked at it, but didn't think it was any different from usual. He could only assume that his sister was still upset about being left alone.
Chu Wan grumbled incessantly, "Brother, you can't do this. You have to be kind to Shuangshuang. She's so much younger than you."
“That’s right, that’s right,” Wushuang echoed.
Earlier, Chu Yao had made fun of Wu Shuang for being jealous of the horse, and she hadn't gotten over that yet. Seeing that Chu Wan was still holding onto Chu Yao's weakness, she naturally had to cheer her on.
In the end, it was Wang Hongbo who took the initiative to help out of the predicament, suggesting that the four of them go out of the camp to ride horses together, thus putting an end to the matter.
Chapter 94 | Table of Contents
Chapter Ninety-Four:
Three days later, the competition to select a consort for Princess Fuya officially began. (Read the latest chapters at Qiuhu.cc)
The young men who accompanied the emperor, aged between fifteen and twenty-five, from the royal family or noble families, and all unmarried men were required to participate.
Although Chu Yao is the right age, his marriage is already arranged, so he is not among the contestants.
The Fifth Prince Chu Yun, the Seventh Prince Chu Xu, and Wang Hongbo all met the requirements in terms of age and background, and were all included in the list of candidates for the imperial son-in-law held by Emperor Deqing.
The competition consisted of two parts: horseback riding and archery.
Before the horse riding competition, Wushuang lent the cloud ink given to her by Chu Yao to Wang Hongbo, jokingly wishing him to win every race and be successfully chosen as the prince consort.
Wang Hongbo waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Don't be silly, I have no intention of winning."
“Fuya is very beautiful,” Wushuang said. “And she’s a princess. I heard that His Majesty promised the Grand Princess that Fuya would live in the capital after her marriage, and that her princess residence would be built to the standards of a royal princess…”
Before Wushuang could finish speaking, Wang Hongbo waved his hand again and said, "No matter how glorious she is or how much the emperor favors her, it has nothing to do with me. We are not a good match, and I will not try to marry her off. I am still young, without any official rank or position. Even ordinary families might not be willing to marry their daughters to me, let alone a princess of a country. The difference in our statuses will be like heaven and earth, and we will definitely not get along in the future. I have discussed with my godfather that I will take the imperial guard exam next year. If I succeed, it will not be too late to consider marriage."
"Brother Bo, what kind of girl do you like?" Wushuang pressed. "Tell me, and I can keep an eye out for you."
Looking at Wu Shuang's sincere expression, Wang Hongbo smiled. Just as he was about to answer, he heard a horn sound, signaling that the competition was about to begin and the contestants were to take their positions.
He swallowed back the words he was about to say, and instead bid farewell to Wushuang before riding away.
The competition was, of course, open and aboveboard proclaimed as fair, just, and transparent; however, with a prince present, many people harbored ulterior motives. (Read the latest chapters at qiushu.cc)
During the horse race, some horses fell off their horses, and others failed to keep up. In short, Chu Yun ultimately won by a slight margin over Chu Xu.
In the audience, Emperor Deqing sipped his tea with a smile. The princes were behaving better than the sons of the other princes and ministers, which made the emperor very happy.
He Yao and Fu Ya are close in age, and He Yao has been accompanying Fu Ya on her travels these past few days. He Yao is sitting next to her now.
“Actually, I think Chu Xu is more likable in terms of personality,” He Yao said. “Moreover, Chu Yun’s background is not good; his birth mother was just a palace maid.”
He Yao was a generation younger than the princes and should have addressed them as uncles, but she was proud and arrogant and looked down on everyone. She could maintain basic politeness to their faces, but when talking about the princes behind their backs, she always called them by their first names.
Fortunately, Fuya grew up on the grasslands and didn't care much about the etiquette of the Central Plains people, so she didn't find it inappropriate.
She responded with an "Oh".
He Yao sensed that Fuya seemed uninterested in the two of them, and couldn't help but glance at her curiously.
The selection of the imperial consort was clearly orchestrated by Fuya, so why is she suddenly not interested when the time comes?
Fuya was wearing sheepskin boots, the kind of boots that grassland girls usually wear. She was kicking her bent legs against the low table in front of her, looking somewhat absent-minded.
After a long pause, she finally spoke: "Sigh, how does your Chu Yao compare to the two of them?"
He Yao's mind worked very quickly, and he almost immediately guessed Fuya's intentions.
She turned her head and looked at the stands to the side. Wushuang and Wuhui were wearing the same cherry blossom pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and even their hairstyles and accessories were the same. Not only that, the two were also chatting and laughing, and were very intimate.
He Yao snorted inwardly and turned to Fuya, saying, "Chu Yao, when it comes to appearance, knowledge, riding and archery skills, let alone in the capital, I'm afraid no young man in the entire Qi Kingdom can compare to him."
"Really? How do you know?" Fuya asked again.
He Yao smiled slightly: "You probably don't know about the Lingguang Guard, do you? They report directly to His Majesty and can arrest anyone, including members of the royal family, and can also conduct interrogations in private. The person in charge of the Lingguang Guard is Chu Yao. It's no exaggeration to say that he is His Majesty's eyes and ears, and His Majesty's most trusted person. Just think, if he weren't the most outstanding person in the entire Qi Kingdom, why would His Majesty value him so much?"
"Who commanded the Lingguang Guard before him?"
“No, Chu Yao has been the commander of Lingguang Guard since its establishment. He was only fifteen years old at the time,” He Yao said.
Fuya pondered for a moment, then asked, "But you've only heard about these things from others, how can you be so sure?"
"Of course I saw it with my own eyes. Let's not talk about distant places. Just this time on the journey, the young lady from the Marquis of Runan's family got her horse startled. It was extremely dangerous, and no one else could do anything, except Chu Yao, who acted decisively. He chopped off the horse's head with his sword and then used his long whip to wrap around the young lady's waist, ensuring she landed safely." He Yao recounted vividly, "You don't know, this isn't just about being highly skilled. In our Qi Kingdom, we believe in the proper separation of men and women. If he had touched the young lady's body even slightly while saving her, it would have ruined her reputation. He would have had to marry her; otherwise, she would never be able to marry anyone else. You see, he not only saved her life but also preserved her honor. He's incredibly skilled and of good character—truly one in a million, a rare find even with a lantern, isn't it?"
Fuya's eyes darted around: "Isn't that the daughter of the Marquis of Runan, his fiancée?"
“Of course not. The Marquis of Runan’s family has several daughters. His fiancée is named Jun Wushuang, and the one who was rescued is Jun Wushuang’s cousin.” He Yao added fuel to the fire. “Speaking of which, the Marquis of Runan’s family is shameless in their attempts to climb the social ladder. Their eldest daughter is already married to the Third Prince, Prince Yi, Chu Ye, and she’s still not satisfied. They want to marry Jun Wushuang to Chu Yao and make her the Princess of Ying. They don’t care at all about the huge age difference between them.” As she spoke, she pointed to Wushuang and showed it to Fuya. “Look, that’s Jun Wushuang. She’s even younger than you.”
As the two were talking, the archery competition began.
Because Fuya wanted to select outstanding young men skilled in horsemanship and archery, only the top ten in horse racing could participate in this competition.
Moreover, the rules are extremely difficult.
The target was set ten zhang away. Everyone first shot three arrows in quick succession, and the last person to finish was eliminated. After that, one person was eliminated for every arrow shot, and the last person remaining was the winner.